Marked for Cristiano Viana
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces28 Dec 2026
Anger at Al-Mojzel spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Match26 Dec 2026
Chastening afternoon for Al-Mojzel
A 0‑3 beating by Al-Fayha was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Mohammed Abdulrahman was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Sultan Al-Shehri falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Nobody left the Al-Mojzel dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Loan watch28 Dec 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Al-Mojzel, and 2 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Nobody at Al-Mojzel will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Marked 5.41, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market21 Dec 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al-Mojzel can pretend not to have heard.
Squad21 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al-Mojzel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Loan watch21 Dec 2026
“I did not go to Ohod to sit and watch. I want to come back to Al-Mojzel and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 19 matches say the rest.
Match19 Dec 2026
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Al-Saudi Al-Watani will be the happier side with the point.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Every debut is a small story about the future: Sultan Al-Nemer, 18 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
5.44 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
5.80 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
5.79. Every footballer has these and most of them happen away from a full ground; his did not, and he will be aware of that all week.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Dec 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al-Mojzel can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Al-Mojzel training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohammed Abdulrahman is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The terraces14 Dec 2026
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match12 Dec 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Waleed Al-Otaibi. 1‑0 against Al-Ta'ee, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
17 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Loan watch14 Dec 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Al-Mojzel, and 0 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Faisal Al-Shehri was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Marked 5.46, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match7 Dec 2026
Al-Mojzel are in real trouble now
Position 15, 8 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Boardroom7 Dec 2026
The scrutiny sharpens at Al-Mojzel
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Al-Mojzel is running low.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 7.60, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market7 Dec 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al-Mojzel can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Cristiano Viana was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match5 Dec 2026
6 goals in one match, Rashid Al-Shammari on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Al-Mojzel and Al-Jeel.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Mohammed Abdulrahman falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces30 Nov 2026
Anger at Al-Mojzel spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market30 Nov 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad30 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al-Mojzel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match28 Nov 2026
Al-Ettifaq left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fahad Al-Shehri, and the manager let it.
Loan watch30 Nov 2026
“I watch every Al-Mojzel game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Al-Nahda runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Nobody at Al-Mojzel will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Marked 5.19, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Marked 5.58. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market23 Nov 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Al-Mojzel, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad23 Nov 2026
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Cristiano Viana was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Mohammed Abdulrahman falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The terraces23 Nov 2026
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match21 Nov 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Yasir Al-Shammari. 1‑0 against Al-Shoulla, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Loan watch23 Nov 2026
“I did not go to Ohod to sit and watch. I want to come back to Al-Mojzel and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 15 matches say the rest.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
5.60 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match7 Nov 2026
No end in sight to Al-Mojzel's wait for a win
14 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Al-Mojzel has to find a result from somewhere.
Match9 Nov 2026
Al-Mojzel are in real trouble now
Position 15, 4 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market9 Nov 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al-Mojzel can pretend not to have heard.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al-Mojzel may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad9 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al-Mojzel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match7 Nov 2026
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad9 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Cristiano Viana
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad9 Nov 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Marked 5.28, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 Oct 2026
11 matches without a win for Al-Mojzel
The run now stands at 11, and the questions being asked around Al-Mojzel are no longer polite ones.
Market19 Oct 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al-Mojzel can pretend not to have heard.
Match17 Oct 2026
No clean sheets in sight for Al-Mojzel
5 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Squad19 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al-Mojzel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match17 Oct 2026
Al-Njoom left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad19 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Salman Al-Enezi
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Loan watch19 Oct 2026
“I watch every Al-Mojzel game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Al-Diriyah runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad19 Oct 2026
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Al-Mojzel told Yasir Al-Shammari something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Marked 5.41, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match10 Oct 2026
10 matches without a win for Al-Mojzel
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Al-Mojzel are no longer polite ones.
Match10 Oct 2026
0‑3 to Al-Riyadh, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Match12 Oct 2026
Every point is an argument now for Al-Mojzel
Position 14 and 4 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
The terraces12 Oct 2026
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 6 of the 25 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Market12 Oct 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al-Mojzel can pretend not to have heard.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Cristiano Viana was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Mohammed Abdulrahman falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match10 Oct 2026
Al-Mojzel are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yasir Al-Shammari, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match3 Oct 2026
9 matches without a win for Al-Mojzel
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Al-Mojzel are no longer polite ones.
Squad5 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al-Mojzel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match3 Oct 2026
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Al-Mojzel training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohammed Abdulrahman is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Loan watch5 Oct 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Al-Mojzel, and 1 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fahad Al-Enezi, and the manager let it.
Market5 Oct 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Nobody at Al-Mojzel will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
5.33 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Sep 2026
8 matches without a win for Al-Mojzel
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Al-Mojzel are no longer polite ones.
Market28 Sep 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad28 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al-Mojzel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces28 Sep 2026
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad28 Sep 2026
The medical room confirms 42 days on the sidelines for Sultan Al-Harbi, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Marked 7.99 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Al-Mojzel had the best player on the pitch.
Loan watch28 Sep 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Al-Mojzel, and 0 appearances in 7 say he has earned the hearing.
Match26 Sep 2026
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market21 Sep 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Match19 Sep 2026
The wait goes on for Al-Mojzel
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad21 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al-Mojzel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Al-Mojzel training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohammed Abdulrahman is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match19 Sep 2026
1‑2 to Al-Hazem, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Loan watch21 Sep 2026
“I did not go to Al-Diriyah to sit and watch. I want to come back to Al-Mojzel and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Salman Al-Enezi dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Marked 5.16. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad31 Aug 2026
20 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Mojzel lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al-Mojzel can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Cristiano Viana was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match29 Aug 2026
0‑1 to Al-Ta'ee, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad31 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Bandar Al-Sulami falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
5.54 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A mark of 5.64 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
5.64 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Aug 2026
27 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Mojzel lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market24 Aug 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Al-Mojzel, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A first appearance Sultan Al-Qahtani will want to forget — 5.46
Everybody's debut is one of two stories and this was the other one. 5.46, and the only consolation available is that nobody's career has ever been decided by ninety minutes in a shirt he had just been given.
Market24 Aug 2026
The bid was some way short and Al-Mojzel did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad24 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al-Mojzel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market24 Aug 2026
Al-Wehda paid $480.0K and Al-Mojzel took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Fahad Al-Shehri falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad24 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Cristiano Viana
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A mark of 7.94, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces17 Aug 2026
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 13 of the 27 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Market17 Aug 2026
Al-Diriyah come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Al-Mojzel did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Cristiano Viana was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
1 academy players handed senior numbers at Al-Mojzel
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Youssef Al-Qahtani falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match15 Aug 2026
Al-Ettifaq left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market17 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Rashid Al-Dosari has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad17 Aug 2026
The medical room confirms 29 days on the sidelines for Ali Al-Sheikh, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market10 Aug 2026
Al-Mojzel say no — this time
The offer from Ohod for Ali Al-Sheikh was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Fahad Al-Enezi commits to Al-Mojzel for another 3 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Cristiano Viana was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Bandar Al-Sulami falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market10 Aug 2026
Everyone has stopped pretending: Al-Diriyah will make the call about Talal Al-Ahmadi this week. Al-Mojzel have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Aug 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Al-Mojzel, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Youssef Al-Qahtani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Saeed Al-Salem commits to Al-Mojzel for another 2 years.